Glucosamine is a nutraceutical supplement that has been shown to provide significant therapeutic relief for arthritis and joint pain. Although the mechanism is not entirely known, it is believed that glucosamine functions to aid in restoration of the cartilage to relieve inflammation in the joints, thereby providing significant benefit to patients.
Presently, glucosamine is primarily derived from harvested natural sources, such as shellfish and other aquatic organisms. Components of the shell or exoskeleton of these organisms are converted into glucosamine using various production techniques. These natural sources are acceptable for producing glucosamine for some applications, but they have limitations. These limitations include the fact that wild shellfish can have significant variations in their composition because they grow naturally under uncontrolled circumstances. The shellfish can vary in such aspects as their size and composition depending upon the growing conditions as well as their species. Also, without control over the growing conditions, the shellfish can be exposed to environmental contaminants, including heavy metals, that can be retained in glucosamine or other products produced from the shellfish. Shellfish harvests are often seasonal, and thus the supply and price of shellfish shows significant variation over time.
A further concern with glucosamine derived from shellfish is that significant portions of the human population have shellfish allergies and are unable to use products that contain ingredients derived from shellfish. Highly processed materials, such as glucosamine, do not necessarily provide any allergic risk when prepared properly; but a concern remains that hyper allergenic individuals will still be allergic to even minute traces of allergens present from the original shellfish. Even if no such allergens are present, glucosamine derived from shellfish can pose a concern to individuals who are allergic to shellfish because individual consumers are not necessarily aware of whether or not all of the allergens have been removed.
An additional problem associated with existing sources of shellfish-derived glucosamine is that some of the shellfish supply is harvested from the seas and oceans of the world. Excessive harvest of shellfish could have a great negative environmental impact. Thus, it is believed that some consumers would prefer to use glucosamine that is not harvested at the expense of sea life. Even if the environmental impact of harvesting shellfish is not negative, there remains concern that the supply of wild shellfish is limited in quantity and inconsistent in quantity from year to year.
Therefore, a need exists for a source of safe, consistent, high quality glucosamine that can be created economically and with a minimum of environmental impact.